"The L.A. Complex" (8 p.m. April 24 then moves to 7 p.m. Wednesdays April 25, CW; 3 stars), which comes to The CW via our northern neighbors at CTV/MuchMusic, presents an affectionate and surprisingly insightful look at Hollywood hopefuls clawing to make careers in TV, music, comedy and dance. The six wannabes live in a dumpy apartment building ironically called the Deluxe. (Points here for the Lux not being "Melrose Place" perfect.)

The most successful of the group, Aussie actor Connor (Jonathan Patrick Moore), moves out--and supposedly up--in the first episode when the medical soap opera he's in gets picked up by a network.

"I haven't even done a guest spot, and now I'm a lead," he says, more nervous than excited.

"I hate you," replies Abby (Cassie Steele), a dead broke Canadian who keeps missing or screwing up her auditions.

Abby draws the ire of Raquel (Jewel Staite), another actress who had a taste of fame 10 years ago in a much-loved but short-lived series ("We had a bad time slot," she tells admirers repeatedly), but hasn't worked for two years. Raquel has a thing with Connor--until he spots the younger Abby. Raquel realizes it's just another part for which she's getting too old.

Connor's soon-to-be former roomie, struggling comic Nick (Joe Dinicol), can't get a laugh but does get slammed at an open-mic night by two pros (guest stars Mary Lynn Rajskub and Paul F. Tompkins as themselves). Dancer Alicia (Chelan Simmons) knows she's good enough to be Usher's backup dancer, but is practical enough to do another kind of dancing to pay the rent.

Would-be hip-hop producer Tariq (Benjamin Charles Watson) works an internship at a rap label where his boss refuses to listen to his beats--until he impresses Kaldrick King (Andra Fuller), a rap superstar with a secret who is trying to stay relevant. (King doesn't live at the Luxe.)

A lot of this sounds cliche, for sure. The show does borrow from "Fame," "A Chorus Line" and other cautionary tales about big dreams. But creator Martin Gero ("Bored to Death") and producers Linda Schuyler and Stephen Stohn ("Degrassi") tweak the Hollywood stereotypes just enough to make this feel fresh and authentic. Their actors, as well, flesh out what could be broad characters with personality and honesty, creating a likeable group of underdogs.

"The L.A. Complex" revels in its dreamers, but its message is for anyone who has ever worked hard for something.

The new comedy "Girls" lands on HBO fully formed, a brave and daringly honest portrayal of four 20-something women struggling to make lives for themselves in New York. And I won't be watching any more of it.

Richard Madden knows how lucky he is that “Game of Thrones” executive producers David Benioff and Dan Weiss didn’t follow George R.R. Martin’s "A Song of Ice and Fire" books exactly for Season 2 of the HBO hit.

Vice President Selina Meyer is just a heartbeat away from the most powerful position in the world in HBO's cynical, hilarious and profane political satire "Veep" (9 p.m. Sunday, HBO; 3 stars). I hope that heart never stops beating.

HARRISBURG — The State Supreme Court has rejected Attorney General Kathleen Kane's attempt to throw out a grand jury investigation into whether she or someone in her office leaked investigative secrets to a newspaper to discredit critics.

Convicted streetlight scammers Patrick J. McLaine and Robert J. Kearns must face charges in Bucks County alleging they took money from Richland Township without following through on a contract to purchase and maintain its light poles.

Catasauqua police officer Scott M. Rothrock had already been stabbed once in the chest with a 13-inch butcher knife and was trying to block more thrusts as he lay on his back in a snow bank Feb. 23 in east Allentown.